People's Teacher Nguyen Lan devoted his whole life to Vietnamese education , and his children and grandchildren are now following in his footsteps to bring honor to the family line.
The prestigious Nguyen Lan family
The late Professor, People's Teacher, dictionary compiler, and famous scholar of Vietnam Nguyen Lan (1906-2003) devoted his whole life to Vietnamese education and was considered to have made great contributions to the establishment of the Psychology and Pedagogy departments and faculties of the Pedagogical school system in Vietnam. Every time the Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20, is celebrated, many people mention the family of People's Teacher Nguyen Lan with respect and admiration.
Family of People's Teacher Nguyen Lan. Photo: GĐCC
People's Teacher Nguyen Lan was born into a poor family in the rural area of My Hao district, Hung Yen . Later, when he took the entrance exam to Buoi school, he received a full scholarship. In 1925, while still a high school student, Nguyen Lan wrote his first novel, "Country Boy". It was an autobiography of his childhood. This novel was later translated into French and in 1934 was determined to be used as a textbook for students.
Nguyen Lan graduated as valedictorian of the Indochina Pedagogical College in 1932. From then on, he devoted his whole life to the career of educating people and scientific research. The "country boy" of that time later became a famous teacher who trained many generations of students.
Not only is People's Teacher Nguyen Lan known throughout Vietnam, his descendants have also brought honor to their family. Although pursuing different majors, all 8 children - 7 boys and 1 girl - of the late Professor Nguyen Lan chose the noble profession of being a teacher and a doctor.
Including sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, the Nguyen Lan family has 4 professors, 5 associate professors, 11 doctors, the third generation has 3 associate professors and 5 doctors. The fourth generation, although still young, has grandchildren teaching at universities and many grandchildren studying at prestigious universities and high schools.
The Nguyen Lan family is known throughout Vietnam. Photo: GĐCC
Descendants of the Nguyen Lan family continue the tradition of studiousness.
Sharing with Dan Viet newspaper reporter, Professor Nguyen Lan Hung said: "We are not good people, but we became good thanks to our father's reminders. My father spoke little but very deeply and set an example for us to try hard in our studies."
To have today's achievements, according to Professor Lan Hung: "The first credit must be given to my father. Although he was born in poverty, he was always eager to learn. He died at 98 years old but worked until he was 95. Every day he worked 10 hours diligently and very seriously. He worked at 8am, took a break at noon and got up at 1pm to work, even on Saturdays and Sundays. Nguyen Lan Dung was very hard-working. He even slept in the lab. My family of 8 brothers all taught at universities, and the younger generation also followed his example in scientific research.
People say it's genetic, but I think our family is normal, it's just the family atmosphere. Family members always encourage each other, advise each other to study, the seniors follow suit and set an example for the juniors.
In addition, our family is very close-knit and united. When my father was alive, the children and grandchildren met once a month. Whenever there was a birthday or someone had a success or achievement, we would meet to congratulate them. On the evening of the 30th of Tet, we would go home to burn incense, and on death anniversaries, on the Kitchen God's Day and on the 2nd day, the whole family would meet. In my opinion, these meetings are very important, creating an atmosphere of understanding and closeness, thereby encouraging each other, helping each other with shortcomings and mistakes. The children's academic achievements are a source of encouragement for their fathers and grandfathers."
Professor Nguyen Lan Dung's family has two children who are both excellent and successful in their studies. The eldest son is Nguyen Lan Hieu, born in 1972, and is the Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital. The daughter is Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Thao, born in 1983, who was honored as one of the 10 outstanding young faces of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and is currently a lecturer at the University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. He and his wife have four grandchildren: Nguyen Lan Nghia, Nguyen To An, Pham My An, and Pham Thao An.
Late Professor Nguyen Lan and his wife - Mrs. Nguyen Thi Te. Photo: GĐCC
Professor Nguyen Lan Dung shared his family's tradition of studiousness: "The best attitude towards children is to encourage them and in all circumstances create the best conditions for them to study. No matter how difficult it is, we try to send them to good schools to maintain the studiousness tradition of both families. Despite the material difficulties during the anti-American war, we never let our children lack nutrition or books.
My son used to wash dishes and study heart surgery in France. My daughter received a scholarship to study abroad in the US. She defended her doctoral thesis with a substance found that does not exist in nature and that I myself do not understand. My grandchildren have a family foundation, so they have developed accordingly. My grandson Nguyen Lan Nghia (son of Dr. Lan Hieu) studies at Harvard University in the US. My granddaughter was passionate about drawing and playing the piano in elementary school, and even asked her grandfather for a notebook to write stories in English.
The children also decide on their own career choices. Hieu's son chose Medicine after his mother, while Thao's daughter chose Biology after her father. Both children have always achieved high academic results and later went to study abroad with scholarships. Thao studied for her PhD in the US and later did an internship in Japan. When she was in high school, Thao won a medal at an International Olympic competition.
My husband and I believe that raising children is both a joy and a responsibility for both of us. What we expect most from our two children is filial piety, which is why we named them that way. We hope that our children will not only be filial to their parents and grandparents, but also to their teachers, their homeland, and their country.
We do not teach our children much, but mainly set an example in life and remind them (and later on, our grandchildren) regularly about what to do and what to avoid. We buy appropriate books and magazines so that they can enrich their knowledge and emotions. We also pay attention to their choice of friends. Both of them have had very close friends since elementary school. We pay attention to their health as well as fostering their love of art. Later, because of better conditions, both of them were able to buy pianos for their children and let them learn to draw from a young age.
Teaching children is first and foremost through the example of parents. We all work hard to learn foreign languages so that we can absorb knowledge from foreign books and newspapers and facilitate training sessions abroad. We regularly educate ourselves through books to continuously improve our professional qualifications. The example of parents has a great effect on children.
We built a family bookcase with a variety of tool books (dictionaries, reference books), specialized science books, culture books, art books, women's work, and home economics books. The walls in the house are all bookshelves and they are very useful assets for all family members. We create conditions for our children and grandchildren to have a place to study, books, computers, printers, and smartphones. We often remind them to respect their teachers and maintain regular relationships with them. Children and grandchildren are the greatest joy in life. There is nothing happier than seeing children and grandchildren healthy, growing up, and having a joyful, happy life."
Source: https://danviet.vn/dong-ho-nguyen-lan-danh-gia-bac-nhat-viet-nam-cu-den-ngay-20-11-lai-duoc-moi-nguoi-nhac-ten-20241113103600367.htm
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